Castle Otway is a former 18th-century country house which stood on a hill on the outskirts of Templederry, near

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The house was built in stone up against the ruins of Cloghane Castle in two storeys with a 7-bay frontage, of which the middle three were pedimented. In the 19th century a tower house was attached at the rear based on the ruins of the castle keep. The house was burnt down in 1922 during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, probably by anti-Treaty Republicans. It now stands as a derelict ruin with the gardens and estate land used for farming.

History

The castle and surrounding land were granted to John Otway in 1685. His descendants included

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Robert Otway, 1st Bt.,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Loftus William Otway and the author

Caesar Otway Caesar Otway (1780–1842) was born at Castle Otway near Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland in 1780. He was an Irish author and clergyman who wanted to study and improve the condition of the poor. Life His parents were Cooke and Elizabeth Otway and ...

. Henry Otway (1768–1815) came to own the castle. He married Sarah Cave of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, who became Baroness Braye in her own right. After Henry's death both the Baroness and their son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

adopted the surname Otway-Cave and the property passed to Robert. He died young in 1844 with no children and the house was inherited by a cousin, Vice-Admiral Robert Jocelyn Otway. On the latter's death in 1884 it passed to his Galway-born son-in-law William Clifford Bermingham Ruthven, who adopted the surname Otway-Ruthven. The castle at one time housed the Otway Harp, an ornate late 16th-century instrument which is now the property of

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

References

{{coord, 52.77926, -8.08151, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Castles in County Tipperary